


The Nonexistence

by TheycallmeVintinneOWO



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Coma patients, Dystopia, F/F, Holy crap - Freeform, Insanity, MIND STUFF, Mentality, NaNoWriMo, Obbsessions, Original work - Freeform, Other, Psychosis, The Fourth Wall wasn't broken it was smashed into itty bitty pieces and then made into idgaf stew, The last person on Earth, Wormholes/loopholes, figuring stuff out, mindfuckery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 23:57:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheycallmeVintinneOWO/pseuds/TheycallmeVintinneOWO
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I am alone.<br/>I am in a constant state of existency. <br/>I've always been alone.</p><p>Erei is the only name they've ever known. The only constant in her life. She supposed it doesn't matter who she is. But it does. Every day, she walks along an empty street under a sunless sky to her home, wherever she chose it to be that particular day. Sometimes it's in a boat in the atlantic. Other times it's in an enormous tree. Once she slept in a hammock above the shore by the Pacific coast. She wasn't rich, she had no need for money. Who was there to take it from her anyways? After all, she was the only human left alive.<br/>That was soon to change, however.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Before we begin, I would like to make something clear. This is not about a heroine. It is not about the girl who fell in love with someone dangerous, it is not a murder mystery, and it most certainly is not some vampire tale (No Offence meant to vampire tales, of course.) This is about the sole existence of the mind. A test, if you will. It is about pushing one's limits and finding the true, mental, pure insanity that lies within us all. Happy reading....

She was 26, alone, and asleep. Maybe she never woke up.  
~*~  
In the beginning,-- No, not that far. It was in the year of Something, and a Someone woke up in a Somewhere, and Something Very Big was about to happen. It could possibly change humankind-- Or make it. It was up to them. The last person on Earth.   
But not the last Living Thing.


	2. This is the Only Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be adding two Cello songs every so often in a chapter to provide a playlist of sorts. They'll be in brackets.

Grey eyes flew open and skimmed the pages of a worn book. A girl sat against a tree on hill, reading something in the shade. it was a rather nice hill, surrounded by grass, flowers, and soft, rich dirt. It was at the entrance to an odd city. Odd being, it was completely abandoned. The girl took no notice of this, and instead reread the sentence in her book. 'Young Ceila was trapped. Trapped in a pit. Trapped by herself, and only she could get herself out.'  
Erei, as her name was, tossed the book to the ground, slightly frustrated. She didn't know what it felt to be trapped. Brushing off her worn and faded jeans, she took off at a running pace through the old, deserted streets. She passed old vendors, empty windows, and curious rats, who must have been wondering where on Earth this strange being was headed. The wind whipping in her face, she ran until she was out of breath, stopping at an old Tailor's shop.  
She usually hated the city. It was an old, rusted, ugly, oily place with no life left in it. Therefore she tried to avoid it, other than for trips to get supplies and whatnot. There were no people, too. But there were no people anyways. Why should there be? She was the only one left.  
Erei scanned the empty windows and glanced up to see if the stars had appeared yet. She didn't take note, however, of the absence of the Sun. She never had, as it had never been. She told time by the stars, and the shadows as well.  
The Shadows grew nearer every day. It wasn't exactly frightening, more of a comfort. A Comfort away from Them. She entered the old dusty talor shop, sneezing once or twice. She took inventory. The shop was surprisingly full, stocking with satins, twists, and flannels. She didn't much care for the fabrics, however.  
She was on a mission. She needed Leather, not Satin. Rummaging through a few old drawers, she found an old, big, heavy-duty needle which she swiftly pocketed and continued her search for the leather.

Ever since she was Thirteen-- She only knew she was Thirteen because of a note attached. A rather strange one, at that--, she had pondered her own existence. As an intellectual girl, she read very many books, but the strange thing about these books is that there are multiple people.  
She never considered to think of who wrote them, or where they came from, but more over asked herself where did the characters come from? She knew from most Tales that lives like hers almost always ended in mortality, and before she met her own fate, she was determined to find some things out. She had made a list, believe it or not.  
1\. Find out where I came from in the first place.  
2\. Find out why there is no one else here.  
3\. Find out where I was born, and how I got to be here. And who sent that note with my age and name.....???  
4\. Find out what those.... THINGS are.  
The list in itself would be considered normal to anyone in her situation, except of course that part about the "THINGS". Those "THINGS." were the darting flickers of light, Lightspots, if you will.  
They at most were the size of a basketball, and they provoked a strange irritation in Erei that she couldn't explain. It's like seeing boys in a schoolyard that regularily bother you, but they aren't doing nothing at the moment. It simply bothers you because they are there, and something is tickling at the back of your mind to run, and get away.  
Most of the time, the Lightspots left Erei alone. Sometimes, some of the mischevious smaller ones would cause trouble, mucking about in her books and wreaking havoc. She had black out all the windows to prevent the Lightspots from being too attracted.  
The sky was a constant, dim, purple color that only provided enough light for Erei to see. Her eyes had adjusted quickly, however, and growing up in the darkness had improved her vision greatly.  
So she found the needle, and went in search of some strong leather. She eventually also found some leather in a dust old box beneath some hat boxes. Satisfied with herself greatly, Erei set out to the edge of the City.  
Beyond the City was a more... Wild land, let us call it. Thick, lush forests grew for miles, and only a few Lightspots dared to travel outside of the city.  
At the road leading out, (Which was soon overgrown of course,) Was a livery where Erei kept one of her horses. She didn't really keep them there for long unless she knew she would need them soon, for she liked to simply let them roam free.  
Reaching the stable, Erei swung open the gate, and a creme and black horse greeted her with a whinny. Smiling, Erei reached out to stroke the horse's nose. She had named it Minnie, after finding an odd book full of pictures. The only word she could make out of the scraps was "Minnie", so she went with that.  
So creative.  
Grabbing a couple of handfuls of hay from a bale, she shoved some into the fodder bag in her stall just by the door. Plopping down on a patch of hay, Erei began to sew a harness. There was no tack around her for some reason, and this frustrated her immensely. Sewing leather was not on her to do list.  
The reason for Erei's Making of the Harness was because she was leaving. The city, that is. She often left the city, but a brawl with a mountain lion had left her Harnessless a while back.  
She tried different places every couple of days, trying to find a place she could call home. It didn't really work though. In all of the books, home was with family, and family meant other people. That was the one thing she couldn't have.  
After a long time of stiching, she held up a shoddily-made harness for Minnie to see. Minnie nickered, probably a sign for more hay. Erei shrugged and silently opened the door, stroking Minnie's neck some before carefully placing the harness on a perfectly still Minnie. She didn't know where the horse came from, but she was incredibley fond of the mare, and wouldn't do anything to hurt her.  
She carefully moved Minnie's head around with the harness a few inches, watching her reactions and head. So far it seemed perfect. Erei didn't require a saddle to ride, so she swung up onto Minnie's back with a great heave (and a hay bale), and carefully guided her outside the stable.  
Ambling into the forest, eyes aware, Erei and Minnie set out for the day, heading to the East Coast.

It was a rather long trip, taking about five hours (not including breaks), and eventually Erei spotted the Ocean ahead of her. It was a cool, windy and overcast day, but Erei didn't mind. She rather liked having something in the sky.  
For the past couple of weeks, Erei chose this as her Thinking Spot. Her Thinking Spot was a place she could breathe, get away from the Lightspots, and get away from all of the sharp, dark shadows that followed her. On the Beach was a grouping of rocks, and one particularily large one that she chose to sit on this particular day. She dismounted Minnie, taking off the harness so she could graze without and troubles, and set off to the rock.  
Climbing the Rock itself was certainly no easy task. Erei would have to find certain rocks that were stuck in place and avoid the ones that would slip under her feet. Since it was a windy, and slightly wet day, climbing the Rock was even more dangerous. She didn't really care however. Slowly but steadily working to the top, Erei managed to prop herself against a large stone on the tip of the Rock.  
Taking in a deep breath, she surveyed her surroundings. About a dozen rocks in total, they varied from size to size, the one she was on being the biggest.  
For miles the sandy beach ran, the grey ocean waters lapping at the shore. The weren't the usual clicks of dolphins, or the angry cawing of seagulls. The Quiet was what Erei relished in. Her sanctuary, you could say.  
As she positioned herself carefully on the Rock, Erei thought of what to do. Something was niggling at the back of her mind, but she couldn't remember what. She shifted slightly. Every day, she had tried to think of ways to find the Book.  
The Book, Erei reasoned, had to exist. After all, where did all the characters come from? There had to be a masterlist or something, no? Every since Erei had found dictionarys, she had become sure that there was something else.  
Something Big. And she was going to find it.


	3. A reminder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin the run.

There were in fact, two places Erei visited when she needed to think. The Coast, being one, and the Library, being another. By an old Capitol, there was an enormous library, filled with ancient books. She took care when leafing through the pages, but the artwork of the main hall itself was incredible.   
Stained glass surrounded a rather large room, and marble pillars entwined along the edge of a balcony-like room which overlook the main hall. On the ceiling, paintings of cherubs, gold leaves, and inscripted names withered away. She took note of some names which she could figure out.  
Homer. Sh/pear. Bac//. Dante. (The slashes are missing letters.)  
She had figured that the names must have been of some very important people. She recognized Dante, however. She had read a book called Dante's Inferno, one of the more ledgible ones. It was.... Interesting. To say the least. Erei had also reasoned that this couldn't be her only world. Maybe the books weren't even from this world. Maybe.... No. She needed to focus.   
Erei had sat on the Rock for about half an hour before Minnie came nickering to her. Erei blinked. She made a confused tiny grunt, looking around. "Oh."   
She carefully climbed off the rock, patting Minnie's shoulder and heaving herself onto the mare delicately.   
There had to be something in the Library. There had to be. She sighed, trotting off the beach and into the forest.  
Erei had indeed prepared, bringing about eight pounds of beef jerky, ten apples, and a refillable waterskin. Not to mention the bread. She shared that with Minnie.   
The sky was dimming, the purple hue casting a radiant glow over the shore, giving it a shining appearance. Stars began to shimmer in the sky. Erei shuddered.  
The Dark was when they came the most. She spotted glimpses of light, flickering through the trees, and urged Minnie on faster. Racing through the forest on a narrow path of dirt, they just barely missed some tree branches, Minnie's legs working to keep them both balanced and safe. The lights grew brighter, and Erei tensed, glancing over her shoulder to see a white, bright light.   
Suddenly, Minnie halted jerkily and reared, almost tossing Erei off her back. Ere just regained her balance, gripping onto Minnie's neck as she stopped, pawing nervously at the ground. Right in front of them bounced six Lightspots, darting around. Blue. These ones were younger. More dangerous.  
One skipped off a tree, rolling down a trunk and bumping into another, and if Erei weren't so tense she would have laughed. She was, though, and she gripped the reins tightly. Two Lightspots approached Minnie curiously and she snorted, eyeing them warily. Pawing at the ground again, she snorted, and the Lightspots emitted searing, screeching noises.  
Erei tightened her leg grip and hands on the reins. Minnie bolted. The Lightspots screeched, following behind her, and Erei clung on for dear life. Grey trees flew past, and the lights dimmed, leaving only the starlight behind. But Minnie didn't stop running.  
She kept on running until she was nearly covered in foam, and stopped abruptly when they reached a building, Erei gasping for breath and nearly hanging off the side of her. She re-positioned herself, stopping to catch her breath. Sliding down stiffly, she took off Minnie's harness.  
The horse snorted in annoyance, stomping friskily. Erei had no idea what had riled her up so, could it just be the Lightspots? Although not very likely, Erei decided it was best if she just assumed that for the time being.  
~(Benedictus.)~  
Looking around her, Erei noticed two things-- The enormous straw temple before her, and the sound of running water. The was indeed, several fountains, and the temple was.... Well, not many words could describe it. It had a dark, brown, wooden roof and thatched walls, not to mention the outside.  
On the outside, several small trees grew, and even smaller rivers-- No, just strips of water!-- ran around them and glistened in the starlight. The grass looked perfectly trimmed, and she could see the spikes of light green amongst the lush, dark, thick grass. The temple was quiet, providing a stilling atmosphere in which Erei found most relaxing. Forgetting the Chase, she dropped Minnie's harness as the horse whickered in delight, chomping down eagerly on the lush grass.   
She took a few steps towards the temple, grey eyes reflecting starlight as she closed her eyes and breathed. She smelled hints of honey, and the wet dirt rising form the edges of the grass, the beautiful lillies growing amongst bushes, providing a sweet, mild scent which lingered on Erei for some time.  
Crickets chirped around her, and she smiled. She opened her eyes again, stepping up to the temple steps, carefully taking one at a time. The old stairs creaked under her weight, and she reached the top soon enough. The patio was something in itself, holding several jade statues, and a few wooden chairs. There was also a peculiar, foot long, jade marble box.  
(Time)  
Erei tilted her head, approaching the box warily. Opening it carefully, she peeked inside. There layed a small scroll, and she frowned. Unsticking the seal, she stopped abruptly as soon as her eyes met the page. Something in her clicked. Changed. She stood stock still for several minutes as she read the list.

Millie.  
Antebrerum.  
Ezra.  
Lucas.  
Tabitha Moore.  
Mie Ke.  
Elles Mei.

Something about those names... Something about them was familiar. In a dangerous sort of way. Erei blinked, realizing she had dropped the scroll in her daze. She hadn't even finished reading it. There was a flicker of recognition, something that felt... Lost.  
(Clocks.)  
She dropped to her knees, staring at the scroll. Without realizing it, a tear slid down her face. She had never really known an emptiness like this before. It was incredibly shocking, and her eyes widened in a mix of emotions. Shakily, she reached out to snatch the scroll, stuffing it into her sack. She stumbled as she stood, leaning on the doorpost.  
She breathed, closing her eyes.   
I need to keep moving. Keep working. Keep searching.  
Turning, she opened the door to greet a long hallway with several doors. After finding nothing but some strange herbs (which she pocketed,) she decided to make camp in one of the six rooms. Minnie could handle herself, and it seemed like the Lightspots didn't really like this area. Tossing her bag and blanket on the ground, she stared at the bamboo ceiling, thoughts racing through her head.  
She would go to the Library in Chiron. Chiron was one of the few places she had named. She had read about a man named Chiron, he was half-horse. Imagine that. Having two stomaches, hmm? She smiled as she thought. I could be half centaur.   
(Viva La vida.)  
Slowly, she drifted off, dreaming of glowing horses and seas of books.


	4. The Hunt.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We fall into the beginnings of dysphoria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pasting these from the word document I'm working on them from. I'm hoping the uploads will be rather quick.

Waking with a start, Erei forgot where she was for a moment, then quickly remembered. The weird, calming temple thingy.  
Shaking her head free of all sleepiness, she rolled up her bag and blanket, walking out to find Minnie. She frowned as she shuffled out onto the creaky porch, however. Minnie was nowhere in sight. She tried letting out a piercing whistle-- Minnie had never responded to name.   
(Fragile.)  
The mare didn't appear, even after the ten minutes Erei sat wondering where the horse could be on the porch. Sighing, Erei slung her bag over her shoulder and set out. The horse could take care of herself, she was still young and strong, (with a temper to match!)  
(https://youtu.be/FRfmAG1FoCs)  
As she walked, the air grew notably more warm, and Erei soon found herself beginning to feel the soft fingers of sleep nudging at her. She resisted, however, and moved for about two more miles when she finally collapsed on a patch of clovers. Her head spinning, she soon found her eyes lazily drifting shut as her mind gave way to a drowsy vortex of confusion and slight peace.  
Something burning, acidic-like worked beneath the surface however. It.... it didn't feel right. But it felt so, so good, in a way she couldn't explain...  
It was like something she had never felt before, a peace so deep, so sleepy....  
Faces swirled in red, and searing yellow images burned through her mind. Clip-like moments from a past life swirled and flickered before her. Fires burned and water dripped.  
Buildings fell and storms rose.  
Eyes opened.  
Mouths grew into smiles, plants grew up and withered, leaving trails of blood.

And then Erei woke up. Her surroundings had changed, and the air was no longer that warm, and the sky had turned a peculiar shade of orange.  
Confused, she looked around. The patch of clovers which she had layed on had turned grey, crumpled, and withered. All of the vegetation was dying, turning into burning ash. She felt nauseous, and there were circles under her dull, wide eyes.   
Looking around, she scrambled to her feet as she glanced quickly towards where her bag had layed-- It was gone now. Shaking her head, she shakily took a few steps in the general direction of her destination, stil dizzy and utterly bewildered by the strange dream she had. It was like some sort of acid trip or something.  
Shaking off the drowsiness, Erei continued to slump onwards. Her legs felt as if they would buckle at any moment, making her movements jerky and halted. Groaning, she staggered onwards, only slightly angry.  
Why was she like this? What was happening? Growling, she squinted and stared at a rather large building ahead of her. It was covered in chipped dark brown paint, rusting away under a dull, wrinkled tin roof.  
Huffing as she reached the old, rotting door, she kicked it in. (It was already hanging off the hinges.) She was met with a blast of gross, moldy air. She grabbed her over shirt, holding the collar to her nose as she squinted into the dusty room. The air outside had turned strangely more chilly, making the warm interior welcoming to Erei.  
Sighing in relief, the first things she noticed were the boxes. There were dozens, if not hundreds of them, and her eyes widened in awe. She walked in quickly, carefully repositioning the door onto the doorway to block the majority of the flow of cold air.  
Well, time to get to work.  
The weather itself was a cruel thing these days, changing in the blink of an eye. it was hardly warm where Erei ever went though, so that heat spell was very muddling to her. Opening the first box, she saw just straw. Frowning, she began to sort through it, reaching something hard in the straw. She pulled it out carefully.  
A jade vase, almost exactly like the ones at the temple. Cringing at the memory, she sorted through another box. Empty. Sighing, she sorted through some more.  
All stuffed with hay. Scowling slightly, she went to another. Last one. Ripping it open, a beam of light shot into her face, blinding her temporarily. When she looked inside, her eyes widened and her jaw went slack as she stared at the thing in the box.

 

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE


	5. Success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Technical character death and some gore descripted.

Erei squeaked, jumping back in surprise from the loud, screeching noise. It was a Lightspot.  
It had jumped out of the box, and was now emitting loud, grating noises. Erei's eyes widened and she quickly scrambled back, staring at the dancing beam of light. It didn't really move anywhere, it just sort of hovered over the box in a dancing manner, seemingly flustered as it screeched obsceneties at her.  
Confused Erei looked around. Nothing had changed but for the abnormal Lightspot, who was still screaming. Aggravated, Erei glared at the thing as she stood. It's screeching paused for a moent as she moved, then continued. Erei growled, reluctantly stepping out of her new-found fortress.  
Well. She had work to do.  
In a book, a very long time ago, Erei had read of a certain Cloth, called the Sen Cloth. It came with an advisory and a how to use-- but of course, not the Cloth itself.  
There was a poem (It didn't rhyme, which only slightly bothered Erei.) that spoke of the lights diminishing for the night, all under the cloth of Sen. She put two and two together and figured that the cloth would help her erase the Lightspots.  
She had been searching for it for a very, very long time. She had actually forgotten to add that to the list. She hadn't made much progress.  
Erei thought of it for a moment. Was the box so important? But the Lightspot, it's.... behaviour was a bit different than most Lightspots. That was good.  
Different was good. She needed different.  
Only slightly relieved, she began her search for Minnie. She would need her.  
As she swerved left of the building, to the forest, she mumbled as she went, humming slightly. She had always rather liked the forest. Pansies sprouted here and there, and Erei followed them on a whim as the birds tweeted overhead. They sky was a light purple now, providing for extra light for Erei to see by. She was rather enjoying herself, it was one of the more pleasant days on Earth.  
As she walked, she saw two deer laying in the wood. They weren't half as wary of her as they would be as in a normal world-- There were no people like her to bother them.  
She tended to try and not bother animals anyways.  
They grunted a little bit, snuffling and nosing one another, and Erei smiled. A rare thing, nowadays.  
Continuing her walk, she passed an enormous oak, some squirells chattering over something shiny, and--  
Abruptly the warm, cozy atmosphere halted.  
The air didn't smell nice anymore. It smelt like a rotting corpse.  
It smelt of metallic, irony, red, gushing blood.  
Erei's eyes widened as she stared at the corpse of what used to be her horse, mutilated and bleeding. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she didn't. She simply dropped to her knees and stared at Minnie for several minutes.  
Her eyes glazed over slightly, but she refused to let herself cry. Already, dozens of flies had been attracted to the corpse, buzzing around happily on the horse's still warm body. Erei felt incredibley nauseous, looking away as she picked herself up, and she began to walk off.  
She walked for miles, regardless of the pain in her ankles and feet, and regardless of the growling of her stomach. Not stopping for water at all, she found her mouth dry within the first fifteen minutes of walking and cursed her stubborness, but moved forward.  
Being stubborn about her stubborness. Heh.  
Shaking her head, she peered ahead to see what on Earth that thing in front of her was. Erei had now landed in a more swampy area, with some patches of mud, dry grass, and the air had a funky smell to it. A buzzing filled her ears as she stared at the thing before her.  
The thing in question was a rather large alcove, covered in vines and strange, purple berries. Though she was absolutely famished, she didn't exactly think eating the berries would be a good idea, so instead she chose to find out what the odd, inscribed, stone panel underneath the bench was.   
Yeah. That would probably be a good idea.  
Kneeling down, she peered at the panel, trying to move it or pry it upwards with her fingers, but to no avail. Glaring annoyedly at the panel, she searched wordlessly for something she might be able to use in her opening of the panel.  
However, just as she turned her back, a loud, grating noise filled the air. Stone on stone.  
Whirling around, she stared wide-eyed at the panel that had somehow managed to open itself, underneath it a wide, black, not-so-welcoming hole. She turned around again, and ran to find a stick in the bushes by the aclove. Grabbing a lengthy, sturdy pole, she shoved it in the hole carefully, prodding around. As soon as she turned the stick backwards she felt something.  
Reaching around with her own hand, she found a ladder rung. Grinning Erei felt further, finding some more. Carefully, she held on tightly to the first ladder rung, testing the others with her feet as she went.  
The ladder seemed as if to go on for miles, but all in all the trip downwards lasting about thirteen minutes, it wasn't that long. But the inevitable fear of falling into the unknown staying with her for the remainder of the trip down.  
After on of the dozen rungs, she found her boot-clad foot stepping on something other than a rung. Ground. Finally. Grinning, she carefuly felt her way around, moving several paces here and there.   
The ground was cold, slightly damp cement. It was clean, however, and Erei grew accustomed to the chilly air of the underground. Soon, however, as she was eagerly feeling around, she smacked face-first into something soft. Eyes wide, she looked up, the grin dropping.  
A dress. First she laughed at herself for being so startled. Then she wondered what the heck a dress was doing in this.... Down here. The dress itself was laying over the side of a box, and there was a sliver of light beyond it, providing just enough light to see. Even more articles of cloth appeared, silk, satin, twists, and flannel.  
Shrugging, Erei decided to go through the boxes. She might actually find something useful.  
As she sorted through them, she tried not to think of Minnie. Or leather.  
These thoughts abruptly failed, however as she shoved a strip of fine leather aside. Rummaging through the boxes some more, she halted abruptly. Something had moved in the box.  
Erei stared fixedly, wide-eyed as she waited for something else to move. After a few moments of nothing happening, she carefully lifted the dress aside, and something black slithered down it, causing her to squeak and jump back.  
Getting over herself, she pickd herself up and peered into the box. The black thing hadn't moved, and was in plain sight. Carefully, she poked the silken thing with a long, tanned and weathered finger. It only moved with the motion of her finger.  
Even more cautiously so, she picked up the thing. It was a slippery, dark, satin cloth that seemed to have holes in it filled by something undescribable, like dry water. It felt incredible. Erei's eyes widened.  
This must be the Cloth! It was obviously no ordinary piece of satin, nor was it something that wasn't cloth at all. So she quickly stowed it, and taking one last glance into the darkness behind before crawling over the boxes to the sliver of light. She couldn't see anything from the other side, so she tried prying it open.  
It didn't swing open, but when she leaned on it, she found herself falling!  
Of course she stopped after a millesecond or two.  
She was on top of some more cloth. She squinted, the yellow light inside the area which she had fallen utterly attacking her retinas. Ugh. Looking around, Erei's jaw fell slack.  
She was in the tailor's shop.  
She was right back at the start.   
Erei's eyes were the size of dinner plates as she carefully stepped out of the shop, looking around. The sky glowed a dim purple and it mostly looked the same. She cautiously stepped towards the livery, panicking inwardly.  
Please don't let this be happening. Please don't let this be happening. Please don't let this be happening.  
As Erei swung open the stable door, she saw Minnie. She saw her horse, chomping at the bit and huffing. Turning around, she stared at the tree on the hill. A figure sat atop it.


	6. Mania.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We begin the descent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Loooooads of mind fuckery ahead. Some mental torture. Major major major character death.  
> I can't believe I'm doing this.

As Erei saw the figure, a ringing started to sound in her head. Turning around, she started running down a different street, littered with rusted tools and broken wagons.  
As she made her way down the long, narrow street, she saw faces in the bricks-- At first she though it was just her imagination, but then they started to scream at her.  
"YOU DID THIS!"  
Horrifyed, she darted away from all of these carefully, making her way to the end of the street.  
But not before she tripped.  
She had tripped over a wagon handle, falling directly on her face. And directly under her face was a large nail, protruding from the road just under her left eye.  
Erei was too shocked to move for a second. The pain was just numb to her until she twitched, and then it went coursing through her, running through her veins like a bolt of electricity, and all the way back to her head like a sack of bricks.  
No.  
Time stopped for a moment. Erei forgot to breathe. The pain ravaging her eye was ignored as she shakily bracing herself against the crumbled road, lifting herself up as the nail dropped out of her eye socket.  
Her other eye was intact, but all she could see was red, and the blood stung her eye. Standing shakily, she staggered back to the other street, ignoring the figure running to the tailor shop.   
She had to... No. She couldn't take Minnie. That would make things worse. She had to find something else.   
Erei had previously known a mule which she had deemed Nu, but she hadn't seen the mule in ages. But... She could try? Grunting in frustration, she stumbled out to the forest. It was a beautiful day, and most of the animals were indeed out.   
Several squirells chattered, and bird swooped in cackling as the squirells squeaked, running up the trees. A few deer lay in the bush, but they ignored Erei and the noises above and below. She caught a glimpse of a badger racing back into it's hole, and smiled briefly.  
Briefly.  
Then she remembered how much it hurt to smile because of the fact that the nail had pushed down, crushing her eye and the skin beneath it slightly, making any facial movement whatsoever incredibly painful.  
Actually, any movement at all was immensley painful.  
Wincing slightly, she stumbled further into the wood. Something rushed past her, and her eyes widened as she darted back, before landing on her backside in the grass, knocking her head against a tree root.  
Could my day honestly get any worse?  
She thought dazedly as she felt the thing moving nervously around her. It was obvious from the cold, and the strange warm breeze that wafted from it at intervals told her that this was indeed a Lightspot.  
But Erei really couldn't care less. All she saw was some leaves and a..... Yellow sky? Huh.  
Well that was a new one.  
As she pondered these things, she remembered. The cloth.   
Her eyes widened again, and she carefully placed a hand in her pocket, drawing out the silken black cloth. The Lightspot was still hovering. Taking the Cloth with two hands, she spread it out and threw it onto what she thought was the Lightspot. Immediately the presence stopped, leading to a more dim atmosphere.  
Erei sighed in relief, trying to shove herself upwards one last time. Hands shaking, she managed to sit up, and stared at the cloth.  
A large lump was underneath it. She slowly reached out a hand.  
And then, everything went black.

Her right eye had been stung, and now she couldn't see anything.  
At all.

She twitched. Then, slowly, she felt the air change. A change in the lighting, somehow as well.  
She regained sight in her right eye again for some strange reason. Everything was flying by, happening in a split second. She saw colors flash before her, faces of those like her, laughing, and dying, she saw an eye, her own, grey, and monotonusly detailed as it blinked, once twice, and began to bleed.  
She saw her world end and begin.  
And then she woke up in an entirely different place.  
Erei groaned, staying flat on the floor of where ever she was. It was cold, bland cement, and she could see a bright white light from the corner of her eye. Grunting, she turned over with some difficulty. It felt as if someone had thrown a spikless mace at her several times over and over and over again.  
Turning over, the first thing she saw was a wall.  
Great.   
Well. She rolled to the other side. A hallway. There was a turn at the end, and she couldn't see where it lead to.  
Wooooooonderful.   
She sighed trying to brace ehrself against the wall as she tried to get up, stumbling slightly as she stood, walking shakily to the edge of the hall. She looked behind her-- Change of perceptions?..... No no no no. It wouldn't--. Wait.  
The wall had moved.  
The wall that was behind her.  
No.  
This wasn't right.  
(Voodoo people.)  
She stared at the wall, which didn't actually move when she stared intently at it, and noticed a line of red seeping throughout the wall crack, running along the edge between the wall and the floor. Slowly, never taking her eyes off the wall, she started to back up.  
When she bumped into the wall behind her, she squeaked, running into the other hallway, not bothering to look as she ran.  
The hall ran for several turns and twists, all of it completely white with an unknown source of white, bright light. Every time Erei looked behind her, the wall grew closer and closer, red running faster and faster. It looked as if the wall itself had run into some large animal, and the red was what remained.  
Gagging, she ran faster until she saw something that wasn't white.   
Doorknobs. Multi-colored.  
Desperate, she started to grasp at the doorknobs, turning each and every one. If there was a doorknob, there had to be a door, right? She was utterly panicking now as she turned multiple knobs at a time, hoping that each one led to an escape.  
The wall grew nearer with every glance, and it was only a foot away as she twisted a green knob in desperation-- and it turned.  
(Orient Express.)  
Everything was red as she jumped through the door. She landed on wet cement, in another hallway. She stared at the doorway which was now cracking under the weight of the wall.  
She was in another hallway, although this one was entirely red. Nononononononono. This couldn't be.  
She couldn't be trapped here forever.  
She....  
She couldn't be.  
All Erei could do was run.  
And she ran, tears streaking her tanned and dirty face as she went through the loop, her mind racing. A way out. She needed to break the loop.  
She couldn't do this forever. She didn't want to end up crushed, or die from heart failure as she ran, her legs pumping away.   
Black oozed through the wall, growing nearer and nearer. She reached the end, a giant window. Knowing now what she had to do, she jumped into it and slammed the side of her body against it.  
She fell.  
She felt the wind through her short, grey hair as she fell. Everything felt as if it was in slow motion, the red light drifting through the darkness.  
(Benedictus.)  
She stared at the hole above her, and it grew smaller and smaller as she drifted downwards. She didn't dare look down.  
She was so close. She had answers. Things were changing, but... She couldn't. Fate wouldn't let her. And now she just had to accept it.  
Erei knew, in that moment, there was nothing to stop her.  
So she relaxed, closing her eyes on her stinging tears as she fell, letting her arms drop and her legs limp as she floated downwards.  
Not thinking of what lay below, Erei let her mind drift, drifting to the time she had found Minnie.  
Drifting to the deer, making tiny grunting noises in the wood.  
Drifting to the dolphins in the water she swam in, clicking at her and playfully splashing her.  
Drifting to the smell of old books, and candles lit under a musty, dark roof.  
Drifting to lush grass, and the smell of lavander.  
Slowly, Erei found herself drifting.  
She didn't try to stop it. She just embraced the warmth of the Unknown.

(The World, English.)  
(Sweet Dreams.)  
(Near's theme.)  
(Misa No Uta.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: the music at the end is all Death note, except for Sweet Dreams (are made of this.) Not Two Cellos.

**Author's Note:**

> Erei is symbol of us all, and this book is mostly open to self interpretation. A guide, if that's what you want to call it. But as you read, I want you to look for certain details. Miniscule notes. Maybe you'll actually find some sense in the madness of an empty world. This book will be a little.... Different, let's call it. There aren't many characters, in fact, there is at first only one. I ask you to make the most of these characters. They might just be the only ones you get.


End file.
